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| Public Act 100-0156 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section | ||||
27A-5 and by adding Section 26-18 as follows: | ||||
(105 ILCS 5/26-18 new) | ||||
Sec. 26-18. Chronic absenteeism report and support. | ||||
(a) As used in this Section: | ||||
"Chronic absence" means absences that total 10% or more of | ||||
school days of the most recent academic school year, including | ||||
absences with and without valid cause, as defined in Section | ||||
26-2a of this Code, and out-of-school suspensions for an | ||||
enrolled student. | ||||
"Student" means any enrolled student that is subject to | ||||
compulsory attendance under Section 26-1 of this Code but does | ||||
not mean a student for whom a documented homebound or hospital | ||||
record is on file during the student's absence from school. | ||||
(b) The General Assembly finds that: | ||||
(1) The early years are a critical period in children's | ||||
learning and development. Every child should be counted | ||||
present every day. Every day of school matters. | ||||
(2) Being absent too many days from school can make it | ||||
difficult for students to stay on-track academically and | ||||
maintain the momentum to graduate from high school in order | ||
to be college-or career-ready. | ||
(3) Every day of school attendance matters for all | ||
students and their families. It is crucial, therefore, that | ||
the implications of chronic absence be understood and | ||
reviewed regularly. | ||
(c) Beginning July 1, 2018, every school district, charter | ||
school, or alternative school or any school receiving public | ||
funds shall collect and review its chronic absence data and | ||
determine what systems of support and resources are needed to | ||
engage chronically absent students and their families to | ||
encourage the habit of daily attendance and promote success. | ||
The review shall include an analysis of chronic absence data | ||
from each attendance center or campus of the school district, | ||
charter school, or alternative school or other school receiving | ||
public funds. | ||
(d) School districts, charter schools, or alternative | ||
schools or any school receiving public funds are encouraged to | ||
provide a system of support to students who are at risk of | ||
reaching or exceeding chronic absence levels with strategies | ||
such as those available through the Illinois Multi-tiered | ||
Systems of Support Network. Schools additionally are | ||
encouraged to make resources available to families such as | ||
those available through the State Board of Education's Family | ||
Engagement Framework to support and engage students and their | ||
families to encourage heightened school engagement and | ||
improved daily school attendance.
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(105 ILCS 5/27A-5)
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(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 99-927)
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Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
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(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | ||
nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | ||
school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | ||
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| ||
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| ||
(b) A charter school may be established under this Article | ||
by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | ||
school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
Beginning | ||
on April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3), in | ||
all new
applications to establish
a charter
school in a city | ||
having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
charter
| ||
school shall be limited to one campus. The changes made to this | ||
Section by Public Act 93-3 do not apply to charter schools | ||
existing or approved on or before April 16, 2003 (the
effective | ||
date of Public Act 93-3). | ||
(b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means | ||
a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and | ||
instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with | ||
their teachers at remote locations and with students | ||
participating at different times. | ||
From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a | ||
moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with | ||
virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a | ||
school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This | ||
moratorium does not apply to a charter school with | ||
virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to | ||
April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter | ||
school with virtual-schooling components already approved | ||
prior to April 1, 2013. | ||
On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to | ||
the General Assembly a report on the effect of | ||
virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on | ||
student performance, the costs associated with | ||
virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall | ||
include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
| ||
(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | ||
its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | ||
provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
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shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | ||
Meetings Act.
| ||
(d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular | ||
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety | ||
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, | ||
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for | ||
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or | ||
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and school | ||
personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety requirement" does | ||
not include any course of study or specialized instructional | ||
requirement for which the State Board has established goals and | ||
learning standards or which is designed primarily to impart | ||
knowledge and skills for students to master and apply as an | ||
outcome of their education. | ||
A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular | ||
health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | ||
under the laws of the State of
Illinois. On or before September | ||
1, 2015, the State Board shall promulgate and post on its | ||
Internet website a list of non-curricular health and safety | ||
requirements that a charter school must meet. The list shall be | ||
updated annually no later than September 1. Any charter | ||
contract between a charter school and its authorizer must | ||
contain a provision that requires the charter school to follow | ||
the list of all non-curricular health and safety requirements | ||
promulgated by the State Board and any non-curricular health | ||
and safety requirements added by the State Board to such list | ||
during the term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) | ||
precludes an authorizer from including non-curricular health | ||
and safety requirements in a charter school contract that are | ||
not contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, | ||
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the | ||
authorizing local school board.
| ||
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | ||
charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | ||
charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | ||
instructional materials, and student activities.
| ||
(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | ||
management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | ||
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | ||
charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | ||
outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | ||
school. To ensure financial accountability for the use of | ||
public funds, on or before December 1 of every year of | ||
operation, each charter school shall submit to its authorizer | ||
and the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form | ||
990 the charter school filed that year with the federal | ||
Internal Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for | ||
proper financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer | ||
may require quarterly financial statements from each charter | ||
school.
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(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | ||
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, all | ||
federal and State laws and rules applicable to public schools | ||
that pertain to special education and the instruction of | ||
English learners, and
its charter. A charter
school is exempt | ||
from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
| ||
governing public
schools and local school board policies; | ||
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
| ||
(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code regarding | ||
criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide | ||
Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent | ||
Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for | ||
employment;
| ||
(2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and | ||
34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of
students;
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(3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | ||
Tort Immunity Act;
| ||
(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | ||
Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | ||
officers, directors, employees, and agents;
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(5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
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(6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
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(7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school report | ||
cards;
| ||
(8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; | ||
(9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying | ||
prevention; | ||
(10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student | ||
discipline reporting; and | ||
(11) Section 22-80 of this Code; and . | ||
(12) Section 26-18 of this Code. | ||
The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) | ||
is declaratory of existing law. | ||
(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | ||
school district, the
governing body of a State college or | ||
university or public community college, or
any other public or | ||
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | ||
school building and grounds or any other real property or | ||
facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | ||
for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | ||
maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | ||
activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | ||
perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| ||
However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after April | ||
16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3) and that | ||
operates
in a city having a population exceeding
500,000 may | ||
not contract with a for-profit entity to
manage or operate the | ||
school during the period that commences on April 16, 2003 (the
| ||
effective date of Public Act 93-3) and
concludes at the end of | ||
the 2004-2005 school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) | ||
of this Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | ||
reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | ||
grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | ||
school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by | ||
the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school | ||
contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | ||
of a State college or university or public community college
| ||
shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
| ||
(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | ||
by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | ||
charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | ||
deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | ||
agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | ||
costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | ||
facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
| ||
to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | ||
board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| ||
(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | ||
grade level.
| ||
(k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission, | ||
then the Commission charter school is its own local education | ||
agency. | ||
(Source: P.A. 98-16, eff. 5-24-13; 98-639, eff. 6-9-14; 98-669, | ||
eff. 6-26-14; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-783, eff. 1-1-15; | ||
98-1059, eff. 8-26-14; 98-1102, eff. 8-26-14; 99-30, eff. | ||
7-10-15; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-245, eff. 8-3-15; 99-325, eff. | ||
8-10-15; 99-456, eff. 9-15-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.) | ||
(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 99-927)
| ||
Sec. 27A-5. Charter school; legal entity; requirements.
| ||
(a) A charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, | ||
nonreligious, non-home
based, and non-profit school. A charter | ||
school shall be organized and operated
as a nonprofit | ||
corporation or other discrete, legal, nonprofit entity
| ||
authorized under the laws of the State of Illinois.
| ||
(b) A charter school may be established under this Article | ||
by creating a new
school or by converting an existing public | ||
school or attendance center to
charter
school status.
Beginning | ||
on April 16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3), in | ||
all new
applications to establish
a charter
school in a city | ||
having a population exceeding 500,000, operation of the
charter
| ||
school shall be limited to one campus. The changes made to this | ||
Section by Public Act 93-3 do not apply to charter schools | ||
existing or approved on or before April 16, 2003 (the
effective | ||
date of Public Act 93-3). | ||
(b-5) In this subsection (b-5), "virtual-schooling" means | ||
a cyber school where students engage in online curriculum and | ||
instruction via the Internet and electronic communication with | ||
their teachers at remote locations and with students | ||
participating at different times. | ||
From April 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016, there is a | ||
moratorium on the establishment of charter schools with | ||
virtual-schooling components in school districts other than a | ||
school district organized under Article 34 of this Code. This | ||
moratorium does not apply to a charter school with | ||
virtual-schooling components existing or approved prior to | ||
April 1, 2013 or to the renewal of the charter of a charter | ||
school with virtual-schooling components already approved | ||
prior to April 1, 2013. | ||
On or before March 1, 2014, the Commission shall submit to | ||
the General Assembly a report on the effect of | ||
virtual-schooling, including without limitation the effect on | ||
student performance, the costs associated with | ||
virtual-schooling, and issues with oversight. The report shall | ||
include policy recommendations for virtual-schooling.
| ||
(c) A charter school shall be administered and governed by | ||
its board of
directors or other governing body
in the manner | ||
provided in its charter. The governing body of a charter school
| ||
shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act and the Open | ||
Meetings Act.
| ||
(d) For purposes of this subsection (d), "non-curricular | ||
health and safety requirement" means any health and safety | ||
requirement created by statute or rule to provide, maintain, | ||
preserve, or safeguard safe or healthful conditions for | ||
students and school personnel or to eliminate, reduce, or | ||
prevent threats to the health and safety of students and school | ||
personnel. "Non-curricular health and safety requirement" does | ||
not include any course of study or specialized instructional | ||
requirement for which the State Board has established goals and | ||
learning standards or which is designed primarily to impart | ||
knowledge and skills for students to master and apply as an | ||
outcome of their education. | ||
A charter school shall comply with all non-curricular | ||
health and safety
requirements applicable to public schools | ||
under the laws of the State of
Illinois. On or before September | ||
1, 2015, the State Board shall promulgate and post on its | ||
Internet website a list of non-curricular health and safety | ||
requirements that a charter school must meet. The list shall be | ||
updated annually no later than September 1. Any charter | ||
contract between a charter school and its authorizer must | ||
contain a provision that requires the charter school to follow | ||
the list of all non-curricular health and safety requirements | ||
promulgated by the State Board and any non-curricular health | ||
and safety requirements added by the State Board to such list | ||
during the term of the charter. Nothing in this subsection (d) | ||
precludes an authorizer from including non-curricular health | ||
and safety requirements in a charter school contract that are | ||
not contained in the list promulgated by the State Board, | ||
including non-curricular health and safety requirements of the | ||
authorizing local school board.
| ||
(e) Except as otherwise provided in the School Code, a | ||
charter school shall
not charge tuition; provided that a | ||
charter school may charge reasonable fees
for textbooks, | ||
instructional materials, and student activities.
| ||
(f) A charter school shall be responsible for the | ||
management and operation
of its fiscal affairs including,
but | ||
not limited to, the preparation of its budget. An audit of each | ||
charter
school's finances shall be conducted annually by an | ||
outside, independent
contractor retained by the charter | ||
school. To ensure financial accountability for the use of | ||
public funds, on or before December 1 of every year of | ||
operation, each charter school shall submit to its authorizer | ||
and the State Board a copy of its audit and a copy of the Form | ||
990 the charter school filed that year with the federal | ||
Internal Revenue Service. In addition, if deemed necessary for | ||
proper financial oversight of the charter school, an authorizer | ||
may require quarterly financial statements from each charter | ||
school.
| ||
(g) A charter school shall comply with all provisions of | ||
this Article, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, all | ||
federal and State laws and rules applicable to public schools | ||
that pertain to special education and the instruction of | ||
English learners, and
its charter. A charter
school is exempt | ||
from all other State laws and regulations in this Code
| ||
governing public
schools and local school board policies; | ||
however, a charter school is not exempt from the following:
| ||
(1) Sections 10-21.9 and 34-18.5 of this Code regarding | ||
criminal
history records checks and checks of the Statewide | ||
Sex Offender Database and Statewide Murderer and Violent | ||
Offender Against Youth Database of applicants for | ||
employment;
| ||
(2) Sections 10-20.14, 10-22.6, 24-24, 34-19, and | ||
34-84a of this Code regarding discipline of
students;
| ||
(3) the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees | ||
Tort Immunity Act;
| ||
(4) Section 108.75 of the General Not For Profit | ||
Corporation Act of 1986
regarding indemnification of | ||
officers, directors, employees, and agents;
| ||
(5) the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act;
| ||
(6) the Illinois School Student Records Act;
| ||
(7) Section 10-17a of this Code regarding school report | ||
cards;
| ||
(8) the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act; | ||
(9) Section 27-23.7 of this Code regarding bullying | ||
prevention; | ||
(10) Section 2-3.162 of this Code regarding student | ||
discipline reporting; and | ||
(11) Sections 22-80 and 27-8.1 of this Code; and . | ||
(12) Section 26-18 of this Code. | ||
The change made by Public Act 96-104 to this subsection (g) | ||
is declaratory of existing law. | ||
(h) A charter school may negotiate and contract with a | ||
school district, the
governing body of a State college or | ||
university or public community college, or
any other public or | ||
for-profit or nonprofit private entity for: (i) the use
of a | ||
school building and grounds or any other real property or | ||
facilities that
the charter school desires to use or convert | ||
for use as a charter school site,
(ii) the operation and | ||
maintenance thereof, and
(iii) the provision of any service, | ||
activity, or undertaking that the charter
school is required to | ||
perform in order to carry out the terms of its charter.
| ||
However, a charter school
that is established on
or
after April | ||
16, 2003 (the effective date of Public Act 93-3) and that | ||
operates
in a city having a population exceeding
500,000 may | ||
not contract with a for-profit entity to
manage or operate the | ||
school during the period that commences on April 16, 2003 (the
| ||
effective date of Public Act 93-3) and
concludes at the end of | ||
the 2004-2005 school year.
Except as provided in subsection (i) | ||
of this Section, a school district may
charge a charter school | ||
reasonable rent for the use of the district's
buildings, | ||
grounds, and facilities. Any services for which a charter | ||
school
contracts
with a school district shall be provided by | ||
the district at cost. Any services
for which a charter school | ||
contracts with a local school board or with the
governing body | ||
of a State college or university or public community college
| ||
shall be provided by the public entity at cost.
| ||
(i) In no event shall a charter school that is established | ||
by converting an
existing school or attendance center to | ||
charter school status be required to
pay rent for space
that is | ||
deemed available, as negotiated and provided in the charter | ||
agreement,
in school district
facilities. However, all other | ||
costs for the operation and maintenance of
school district | ||
facilities that are used by the charter school shall be subject
| ||
to negotiation between
the charter school and the local school | ||
board and shall be set forth in the
charter.
| ||
(j) A charter school may limit student enrollment by age or | ||
grade level.
| ||
(k) If the charter school is approved by the Commission, | ||
then the Commission charter school is its own local education | ||
agency. | ||
(Source: P.A. 98-16, eff. 5-24-13; 98-639, eff. 6-9-14; 98-669, | ||
eff. 6-26-14; 98-739, eff. 7-16-14; 98-783, eff. 1-1-15; | ||
98-1059, eff. 8-26-14; 98-1102, eff. 8-26-14; 99-30, eff. | ||
7-10-15; 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-245, eff. 8-3-15; 99-325, eff. | ||
8-10-15; 99-456, eff. 9-15-16; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16; 99-927, | ||
eff. 6-1-17.)
| ||
Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes | ||
changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text | ||
that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section | ||
represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does | ||
not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes | ||
made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other | ||
Public Act.
| ||